Centering mechanism.



H. F. MARSTUN 61). L. McKlTTRlCK.

CENTERING MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED AUGI. 1912.

2 SHBIJTSSHEET 1 Patented Apr. 6, 1915 In. venfors H0 ward Ell/anion olm L.M](iz7rid Wizn asses.-

UNITED STATES PAEENT OFFICE.

HOWARD F. HARSTON AND JOHN L. McKITTBICK, OF DAYTON, OHIO; SAID MOKITTBICK ASSIGNOB TO SAID MABSTON.

GENTERING' Specification 0! Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 6, 1915.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, HOWARD F. MARS'ION and JOHN L. McKrrrmoK, citizens of the United States, and residing, respectively, at Dayton, in the county of Montgomery and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Centering Mechanism, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to centering mechanism for type or matrices and has-for its object to provide means simple in construe-- tion and reliable in operation for centering lines of type of various lengths relatively to a primary line of matter or to a predetermined point in a given measure.

This mechanism is particularly applicable to linotype machines of the general character of those illustrated, for instance, in United States Patents 565,484 and 565,487 of August 11, 1896 to Mergenthaler.

The drawings accompanying specification illustrate our improvements in their preferred embodiment as applied tosuch machines.

F 1 is a front elevation of our improvements together with so much of a linotype machine as will servetoillustratetheir application thereto. Fig.2 is a plan view corresponding therewith. Fig. 3 is aperspective elevation illustrating details'of our improvements. Fig. 4 is a fragmentary detail elevation illustrating the operation of some other parts. Fig. 5 is aplan view of a plurality of lines of type in which the 'com-' posed matter has been centered by'our improved mechanism. Fig. 6 isa fragmentary sectional elevation illustrating the operation of a portion of our improved mechanism.

At 2 is shown the usual guiding and for warding mechanism for the matrices and at 3 is a line of matrices assembled in the usual elevator 4. Assembler finger 5 fixed to shifter rod 6 is preferably of equal length with sliding assembler finger 7 and is connected thereto by pull spring 8 so that when the said finger 7 is released to slide endwise on shifter rod 6 it will be urged toward finger 5. Said finger 5 is chamfered' at its.

lower end 9 so that as the matrices in elevator 4 are moved upwardly they will enter between said fingers 5 and 7. .F or holding finger 7 in its idle position we provide book 10 for engagement with pin 11 on hub 12 of said finger 7.-

Hook. 11 is adjustably held in the upper end of rod 13 mounted for oscillation in suitable brackets on frame 14 of the machine. Adjustably fixed to said rod 13 is dog 15 having angled face 16 for engagement with born 17 of elevator 4. The usual elevator 18 for lowering the matrices to the mold, indicated at 19, is slidably mounted on frame 20 under gibs 21.. As the composed line of matrices is moved downwardly by elevator 18 said line isdelivered between faces 22 of vise jaws 23,24, which faces are normally separated from one another the maximum amount, Fig. 3, bymeans of lever slides 25, 26' respectively.

lTise jaws .23, 24, are slidably mounted in channels in frame 20 and are held therein by said leverslides 25, 26.

j Lever slides 25, 26 are fixed in lever slide base 27 andreach upwardly therefrom prefer'ably atequal opposite angles thereto. In the illustrated embodiment said angle is about forty-five degrees to said base and said,- slides stand at about ninety degrees from each other;

Vise jaws 23, 24, are provided with angular slots as 28 in jaw 23 and 29 in jaw 24 for the reception of said lever slides. Therefore, if vbase 27 ismoved toward said jaws, lever slides 25, 26 will engage slots 28, 29 in jaws 23, 24; r tively, and move those aws in their sli eways in frame 20, toward one another to: grip a. line of matrices there between. Saidfslide "base 27 is slidably mounted for p ses of adjustment on bar 30 thereunder. ase 27 is preferably provided with overhangin edges 31 for gnidonce on bar 30 and said bar is slotted at 32 for the passage therethrough of screw 33 threaded into base 27. Spring 34 between the head of screw 33 and the bottom of bar 30 serves to hold base 27 and bar 30 in frictional engagement. 'Bar 30 may be moved upand down to actuate jaws 23, 24, toward and from each other through the instrumentality of lever slides 25, 26, by means of rods 45, 46 commonly known in this class of machines as iustification rods. These rods will be moved up in unison so as to maintain parallelism between bar 30 and jaws -ment with the inclined face 16 05d Outreaching to the left from jaw 23 vise jaw adjusting rod 35 for engagement with operating lever 36 pivoted at 370m bracket 3S0 outreaching from frame 20. Pivoted to operating lever 36 is arm 37 for movement into and out of operative position relatively to vertically movableactuator 3S. Said actuator may be moved upwardly, Figs 1 and 3, at suitable times by wellknown automatic means not shown. It is" obvious, however, that it may be actuated by hand if desired. For swinging arm 37 into and out of operative relation tolactuator' 38 Y we provide the following means:

Rotatably mounted in cars 39, 40,-outstanding from frame20 is rod 41. To that end of said rod adjacent to elevator 4 is fixed handle 42 convenient for the operator of the machine. To the other end of said rod is fixed upstanding arm 43, the upper end of which is connected to arm 37 by link 44.

In the automatic operation of machines nism is as follows: A composedlineof mat- .rices having been delivered to; elevator 4 lever 50 is operated to raise that elevator, delivering said matricesbctween fingers 5 and 7; The continued upward movement of said elevator will bring born 17: into engagewhereby rod 13 will lie-rotated to with raw hoop 10 from en agementwith pin 11 permitting sliding ger 7 to move into engagement with the left hand end of the line of matrices 3, Fig. 1, clamping those matrices in close contact with each other and against finger 5. Whenelevator 4 has been raised to delivery position, shifter rod 6 will be moved to the left carrying-said line of matrices therewith into guideway 47 and therethrough to elevator 18. The line of matrices still guided by fingers 5 and 7 will be delivered downwardly from said fingers to between faces 22 of jaws 23, -24. Rods 45, 46 then being moved upwardly, leverslides 25, 26, in engagement with vise jaws 23, 24, will cause those. jaws to move inwardly in unison toward each other clamping the line of matrices therebetween and centering that line lengthwise relatively to a vertical line through the jointure 49 of lever slides 25,

upwardly, with-finger 55 26. In the mean time shifter rod 6 has returned fingers 5 and 'i' to their initial positions of Fig. 1. If it is now desired to position said line of matrices at a given point lengthwise the sing or l-inotype which isto be cast, as at the extreme right end thereof, Fig. 5, handle 42 is moved outwardly whereby rod lli's rotated to move arm 37 into engaging position over the upper end of actuator 38. Thereupon said actuator is moved upwardly into engagement with arm 37 causing operating lever 36 to engage the end of rod 35, thereby sliding endwise to the right jaws 23, 24, the matrices therebetween and lever slides '25, 26 of base 27, against the frictional resistance of that base on bar 30. It will be observed that the matrices comprising any given line include no quads or spaces but arelimited to the required characters. This permits the composed matter to be arranged in any desired position relatively to the slug length. Those portions of' the-slug as 60 which do not bear printing characters are cast against the faces-o jaws 23, 24. It will thus be seen that. our improved mechanism it is unnecessary to drop any spaces or quads to fill out the lines of matrices, provision being made forsaid filling-out in casting. The linotype slug may now be castin the usual manner and the matrices returned to the reservoir'according to means well-known in the art which are not necessary to describe herein. Our improved mechanism is now set for centering successive lines of matrices in coincidence with the line the centering of which has just been described. In the meantime actuator 38112.5 been returned to its idle'position, During the upward return movement "ofelev'ator 18 for the delivery of the matrices to their reservoir, lug 56 on said -elevator will encounter finger 55 thereby rocking rod 41, Fig. 6, whereby arm 37 is swung out of engaging position relatively to actuator 38, Fig. 2. Thereafter each upward'movement of actuator 38 will be an idle movement, without performing any useful work. Such idle operation of said actuator will continue until handle 42 is again pulled outwardly to move arm 37 into engagingposition with said actuator, for positioning the matrices rela tively to the primary line of 'the'next group of lines.

Referring now particularly to Fig. 5, if it is desired to have several lines of type centered relatively to each other, located at the extreme end as 51 of the completed slugs, it will be necessary first to set: and center the longest of the several lines to be thus associated. In the illustrated arrangement the second line 52 is that longest line. Such longest line can be readily selected from the copy by inspection and the assembled matrices therefor delivered to the extreme right by means of actuator 38, as already described. The other lines to be associated therewith can then be set up and cast in any sequence desired and, after casting, the slugs can be arranged in proper order for printing.

We claim:

1. Centering mechanism for a line of type including in combination, a pair of oppositely disposed type engaging jaws, means for moving said jaws toward and from each other, and means for adjusting said jaws and their mowing means lengthwise said jaws without disturbing the relation of the jaws to each other or to their moving means.

2. Centering mechanism for a line of type including in combination, a pair of oppositely disposed type engaging jaws, means for moving said jaws toward and from each other in predetermined ratios relatively to a fixed point therebetween, means for adjusting said jaws and their moving means lengthwise said jaws without disturbing the relation of the jaws to each other or to their mowing means, and means for holding said jaws and their moving means in their adjusted position.

3. Centering mechanism for a line of type including in combination, a pair of oppositely disposed type engaging jaws, means for moving said jaws toward and from each other in synchronism, means for adjusting said jaws and their moving means lengthwise said jaws without disturbing the relation of the jaws to each other or to their moving means, means for holding said jaws and their moving means in their adjusted position, means for assembling a plurality of type to form a composed line and means for delivering said composed line between said oppositely disposed jaws.

4. Centering mechanism for a line of type including in combination, a pair of oppositely disposed type engaging jaws, a pair of relatively rigid lever slides for engagement with said jaws for moving said jaws toward and from each other, and means for actuating said lever slides for moving said jaws.

5. Centering mechanism for a line of type including in combination, a pair of oppositely disposed type engaging jaws, a pair of lever slides for moving said jaws toward and from each other, means for actuating said lever slides for movin said jaws. and means for adjusting said jaws and their moving means lengthwise said jaws without disturbing the relation of the jaws to each other or to their moving means.

6. Centering mechanism for a line of type including in combination, a pair of oppositely disposed type engaging jaws, a pair of lever slides for moving said jaws toward and from each other, means for actuating said lever slides for moving said jaws, and means operatively connected with one of said jaws for adjusting said jaws in the line of their length without disturbing their positions relatively to each other or to their moving means.

7. Centering mechanism for a line of type including in combination, a pair of oppositely disposed type engaging jaws, a pair of lever slides for movingsaid jaws toward and from each other, means for actuating said lever slides for moving said jaws, means for adjusting said jaws and their moving means lengthwise said jaws without disturbing the relation of the jaws to each other or to their moving means, a lever slide base in which said lever slides are fixed, a lever slide bar mounted for movement toward and from said vise jaws and means for moving said lever slide bar.

8. Centering mechanism for a line of type including in combination, a pair of oppositely disposed type engaging aws, a pair of lever slides for moving said jaws toward and from each other, means for actuating said lever slides for moving said jaws including a lever slide base in which said lever slides are fixed, a lever slide bar mounted for movement toward and from said vise jaws, said lever slide base being mounted on said lever slide bar for adjustment parallel with the movement of said vise jaws, means for maintaining the adjustment between said lever slide base and lever slide bar, and means for moving said lever slide bar.

9. Centering mechanism for a line of type including in combination, a pair of oppositely disposed type engaging jaws, a pair of relatively rigid angularly disposed lever slides for moving said jaws toward and from each other, means for actuating said lever slides for moving said jaws, means for assembling a plurality of tyne to form a composed line, and means for delivering said composed line between said oppositely disposed jaws.

10. Centering mechanism for a line of type including in combination, a pair of 0ppositely disposed type engaging jaws, a pair of lever slides for moving said jaws toward and from each other, means for actuating said lever slides for moving said jaws, means operatively connected with one of said jaws for adjusting said jaws in the line of their length without disturbing their positions relatively to each other or to their moving means, means for assembling a plurality of type to form a composed line and means for delivering said composed line between said sitely disposed jaws.

11. Centering mechanism for a line of type including in combination, a pair of oppositely disposed type engaging jaws, a pair of lever slides for moving said jaws toward and from each other, means for actuating said lever slides for moving said jaws including a lever slide base in which said lever slides are fixed, a lever slide bar mounted for movement toward and from said vise jaws, meaasior moving said lever slide bar, means for assembling a plurality of type to form a composed line, and means for delivering said composed line between said oppositely jaws.

12." Centering mechanism for a line of including in combination, a pair of oppo it y' s ed rp engaging jaws, a p of lever slides formoving said jaws toward and from each other, means for actuating said lever slides for moving said jaws including a lex er slide base'in which said lever slides are fixed, a lever slide bar mounted for movement toward andvfrom said vise jaws, said lever slide base being mounted on said lever slide bar forgedj'ustment parallel with themovement of said vise jaws, means for maintaining the adjustment between said lever :slide base and lover slide bar, means for moving said lover slide bar, means for :lssemblin a plurality of type to form a eomposed line, and means for delivering said composed line between said oppositely disposed jaws.

13. Centering mechanism for a line of type including in combination a pair of oppositely disposed type engaging jaws each having an angular slot therein, a pair of relatively rigid 'angularly disposed lever slides in engagement with said angular slots respectively, and means for actuating said lever slides for moving said jaws.

Signed at Dayton, Ohio, this 29 day of July, 1912, before two subscribing witnesses.

HOWARD F. MARSTON. JOHN L. MGKITTRVICK.

Witnesses:

FANNY VAN Dorms, ELMBR H. HOUCK.

00111:: of "th ispstent may heobtalned for live cents each, by eddressing the Commissioner 0! Patents,

Washington, D. 0."

It is hereby certified that in Letters Patent No. 1,134,145, granted April 6, 1915, upon the application of Howard F. Marston and John L. McKittrick, of Dayton, Ohio, for an improvement in Centering Mechanism, an error appears in the printed specification requiring correction as follows: Page 3, line 123, for the syllables sitely" read oppositely; and that the said Letters Patent should be read with this correction therein that the same may conform to the record of the case in the Patent Ofiicei I Signed and sealed this 17th day of August, A. D., 1915.

J. T. NEWTON,

Acting Commissioner of Patents.

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